Pass Us the Mic: We’ve Got Something to Say
The third exhibition in collaboration with Flower City Arts Center in Gallery Obscura features works by high school student artists committed to pursuing careers in the arts.
The photographic works in Pass Us the Mic: We’ve Got Something to Say are self-portraits that exemplify the genre. The works by the fifteen student artists in Flower City Arts Center Expanding the Field after-school program are complex, layered statements about the artists and their views of the world. They are also examples of the strength of the collaborative creative process.
For this project, student artists were asked to choose a social justice issue they felt passionately about, research it, and write a declarative statement. Students were encouraged to use their creative control to voice their opinions about issues that affect them directly or indirectly. The writings were then projected onto their authors and the photography was done in collaboration with fellow student artists. Each image’s combination of color, text, pose, and composition creates a highly individualized self-portrait. White coveralls worn by each student artist created a body canvas and a visual metaphor for youth protecting youth while giving the student artists ownership of their narratives.
Also included are video works created by the students. In The Chase, the student artists address societal perceptions of black and brown male youth and the distrust they may have for each other as a result. In another video, each student artist uses their voice to address the social justice issue featured in their self-portrait, then passes the mic.
Students were assisted by Kylie Newcomer, digital photography instructor, and Rashaad Parker, program director and conceptional designer for the project.
About Expanding the Field:
A program of the Flower City Arts Center, Expanding the Field, supports access to visual arts resources—increasing healthy diversity of college-level visual arts programs and future leadership in the professions of ceramics, printmaking, and photography. Under the direction of Program Director Rashaad Parker, Expanding the Field is an arts advancement opportunity for local students who are serious about their futures in the arts. High school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors who identify as a person of color are encouraged to apply to the program. For more information, visit flowercityarts.org/expanding-the-field
About Flower City Arts Center:
Flower City Arts Center is a community-based not-for-profit organization that educates, encourages, and inspires all people to create and enjoy the visual arts. Established in 1970, Flower City Arts Center offers classes and workshops for youths and adults with an emphasis on three areas: photography and digital arts, printmaking and book arts, and ceramics. It also provides exhibition spaces and facilities for studio artists. The center has an ongoing commitment to art for all people, and its programs are available to community members of all ages, incomes, and backgrounds. Flower City Arts Center is an institutional member of the National Guild for Community Arts Education.
About Gallery Obscura
The museum's new Gallery Obscura space features exhibitions created or presented in collaboration with community institutions and school and youth programs, projects focused on Greater Rochester, and exhibitions from the collections that are thematically related to regional events or that support other museum initiatives and programming.
This exhibition is generously funded by Nocon & Associates, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
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